So when are those big honkin' flat TV's coming down in price?

[Roxanne Appleby]

I keep waitin', but the demand still seems to exceed supply, because for two years the downward price movement is veeerrrry slow. I started looking when on the first day of the winter olympics I knocked over my old 27'' tube with a green blotch in the top left of the screen and thought I'd killed it. Later I turned in on and it worked, so the replacement search became more passive and opportunistic.

Anyway, those 4-digit prices are not gonna happen in this household, given that I watch about 1 hour of TV/month (not counting the occassional non-family entertainment DVD .)

It appears that 32'' is the smallest one of those big honkers that is worth spending even a high three-digit amount on, and I see them as loss-leaders for $700-ish, which is still pretty ridiculous. There's a 42'' featured on the ABC flyer for $800. (Best line in the ad: "Future-proof USB input." Future-proof! )

That's still a lot of frickin' money for a frickin' TV!

Discussion?

 

[neonlyte]

We have smallish one's here for under 400 Euros... but that still equates to about a zillion US$... not that I'm implying 'nuffin to an arch free market type

Seriously, the dollar's drop isn't going to ease prices soon and your broadcasting standard is out of sink with other major economies so USA 'flat screens' are always more expensive for that one line of code that changes digital output to the USA 'standard'. Expect prices to drop next time you host the Summer Olympics - no body gives a toss about the winter games.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

We have smallish one's here for under 400 Euros... but that still equates to about a zillion US$... not that I'm implying 'nuffin to an arch free market type

Seriously, the dollar's drop isn't going to ease prices soon and your broadcasting standard is out of sink with other major economies so USA 'flat screens' are always more expensive for that one line of code that changes digital output to the USA 'standard'. Expect prices to drop next time you host the Summer Olympics - no body gives a toss about the winter games.

Ouch and ouch and ouch again - someone give Neon some coffee or something . . .

The 26'' ones here are $500, so I think those prices are about the same as Europe. The asian countries these things are coming out of are somewhat synched up with the dollar, so it's not really a currency thing. I don't think it's really our broadcasting standard either, which is gonna change soon anyway, because the US is still the biggest market, so it's hardly like manufacturers are serving some special niche.

I suspect that it really is a combination of supply demand, and the things are still new enough that several generations of innovation have not driven costs down - yet. But I'm open to actual facts if anyone's got 'em.

 

[cloudy]

I wish they'd go down. I want one.

 

[jomar]

Glad you asked.

Right now is actually a good time to buy. Many companies have just come out with new models that have more processing speed and such that normal people probably can't even notice on action scenes/sports. So you can get good deals on TVs they want to move to make room for the new ones. I got a big honkin' Sharp recently at Costco using a $500 discount coupon. Deals are out there. From what I've read, you can even wheel and deal with Best Buy and Circuit City. Check out Vizio, they're a good value.

Here's a link to the AVS forums where you might find some useful info.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

 

[Handprints]

I suspect that it really is a combination of supply demand, and the things are still new enough that several generations of innovation have not driven costs down - yet. But I'm open to actual facts if anyone's got 'em.

This is only a few months out of date but suggests there's no hurry to lower prices. In fact, a technical analyst would tell you that the price chart on the Panasonic contains a double-confirmed signal of an imminent price rise. Please consult your local witch doctor or licensed scapulamancy practicioner for a better-grounded opinion.

Best,
H

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

This is only a few months out of date but suggests there's no hurry to lower prices. In fact, a technical analyst would tell you that the price chart on the Panasonic contains a double-confirmed signal of an imminent price rise. Please consult your local witch doctor or licensed scapulamancy practicioner for a better-grounded opinion.

Best,
H

The usefulness of this scapulamantic data is "head and shoulders" above anything else I've seen so far.

I want those prices to become a falling knife, and I won't mind trying to catch it at some point.

 

[Lisa Denton]

The usefulness of this scapulamantic data is "head and shoulders" above anything else I've seen so far.

I want those prices to become a falling knife, and I won't mind trying to catch it at some point.

Seriously Roxanne, you just have to wait a lil longer, like me. I only just a couple months ago got a 19 inch flat monitor for my computer.

Anyways, here is the real skinny. I have a friend who has some big bucks, but he is not one of those with more dollars than sense.

He researches the hell outta everything before spending a buck for a cup of coffee. He checked on those, and here is what he found out, why demand remains so high.

Everbody was getting the big honking ones before this new version, I dunno this stuff but he was talking all kinds of shit like plasma and nuclear powered and stuff. Anyways, these older big honkers all had flaws, thats why he didn't get one. Some if you opened the curtains the picture looked like crap, others you had to drag your furniture around to different places because only a certain distance/angle worked. So everbody who spent an arm and leg before on a big honkin one, that was crap, has been saving up to get the new big honkin one.

He finally broke down and got one, said they became affordable for him. I think it was like you said a 42 inch one for like 750. But, he told me the price is gonna drop like a falling knife, but it will take another six months to year before I can start looking at them.

I don't watch much t.v. either. I download t.v. shows with torrents and watch them on my computer sometimes. With the increased bandwidth speeds sometimes you can get a whole season of a show by leaving it running a couple or three days.

So, even though my t.v. is sitting there turned off, I want a big honkin one sitting there turned off.

Anyways, thats what he said, we have about a year to wait.

 

[Handprints]

The usefulness of this scapulamantic data is "head and shoulders" above anything else I've seen so far.

I want those prices to become a falling knife, and I won't mind trying to catch it at some point.

There really ought to be some kind of fine for that amount of punning...

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

. . . I dunno this stuff but he was talking all kinds of shit like plasma and nuclear powered and stuff.

Yeah, that's another thing - that plasma stuff sounds damned serious. I don't wan't a frickin' fusion reactor, for Pete's sake.

(Well, actually I wouldn't mind one, but probably not right now.)

 

[shereads]

They are magnificant, aren't they? And cheaper every year.

I could watch those Hi-Def demo feeds at Best Buy for hours. When I'm tempted to buy, though, I remind myself that there's never anything on TV. Hi-Def, Low-Def. Whatever-Def...The Colbert Report and the Daily Show are funny even when the picture is fuzzy. The news is scary enough without making it look like it's happening in my living room. I watch DVD's on the Mac...

Best Buy can keep their cool looking TVs. For a few more years, at least.

 

[The_Fool]

Plasma is a no-no for me. LCD is okay. I went with a Samsung HD 46" DLP rear projection for $1200. Bought it at Best Buy with an Ultimate Electronics advertisement. It is the 720p/1080i type of HD, which is what is being broadcasted, Not the 1080p which is what HD DVD and BlueRay are broadcasting. Works great for football games. Works great with an upconvert DVD player.

 

[trysail]

"Neither be the first by whom the new is tried,
nor the last by whom the old is set aside."
-Alexander Pope
"Essay On Criticism"
________________________

Okay, I am the last adopter <laughing>

I am, apparently, the last person in the United States who doesn't own a cell phone (a "mobile" for you Brits). The land line works fine; it works when the power goes down. If somebody really wants to get hold of me, just leave a message.

I sit here using a Windows 98SE OS on a seven and a half year old computer (it works just fine, though I dread the conversion that's looming in the all-too-near future).

My television is a fourteen year old 13" Daewoo. The only new automobile I ever bought was a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle (it cost $2,834) and I drove it for fifteen years. I'm currently driving a ten year old Jetta that I bought used. I don't own a digital camera; film works perfectly well for me, is better for archival purposes, and I order a CD when I take film to be developed. The good old Leica M3 is essentially indestructable and my twenty year old waterproof Canon "Ph.D." (Push Here Dummy) is largely idiot-proof (an important consideration where I'm concerned).

I was, apparently, the last known user of Lotus 1-2-3 (v. 2.2) and nearly drove the FactSet folk around the bend. CDs are fine; who the hell needs an iPod? The opera broadcasts still come o'er the airwaves on my commercial-free classical music public radio station. Books remain far better reference sources (though I admit to occasionally consulting Wikipedia). My print edition of the OED is far more satisfactory than a CD or an on-line version.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

"Neither be the first by whom the new is tried,
nor the last by whom the old is set aside."
-Alexander Pope
"Essay On Criticism"
________________________

Okay, I am the last adopter <laughing>

I am, apparently, the last person in the United States who doesn't own a cell phone (a "mobile" for you Brits). The land line works fine; it works when the power goes down. If somebody really wants to get hold of me, just leave a message.

I sit here using a Windows 98SE OS on a seven and a half year old computer (it works just fine, though I dread the conversion that's looming in the all-too-near future).

My television is a fourteen year old 13" Daewoo. The only new automobile I ever bought was a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle (it cost $2,834) and I drove it for fifteen years. I'm currently driving a ten year old Jetta that I bought used. I don't own a digital camera; film works perfectly well for me, is better for archival purposes, and I order a CD when I take film to be developed. The good old Leica M3 is essentially indestructable and my twenty year old waterproof Canon "Ph.D." (Push Here Dummy) is largely idiot-proof (an important consideration where I'm concerned).

I was, apparently, the last known user of Lotus 1-2-3 (v. 2.2) and nearly drove the FactSet folk around the bend. CDs are fine; who the hell needs an iPod? The opera broadcasts still come o'er the airwaves on my commercial-free classical music public radio station. Books remain far better reference sources (though I admit to occasionally consulting Wikipedia). My print edition of the OED is far more satisfactory than a CD or an on-line version.

The rest makes sense but you really should check out digital photography, for a variety of good, real life reasons, not just the techno "ooh-ah."

 

[cantdog]

I truly love "future-proof"! What a comforting thing it would be, really, to so many people! To just be future-proofed!

The demand is wild for those things. People do have them (you can't seem to keep people from racking up debt for toys they don't need) and they makes a walk through town at night quite different. I used to see the glow, flickering, behind the window shades, as though so many blue campfires had been lit on the living room floor. Now it's more like passing a drive-in, with the gigantic images visible and identifiable from a block away, even if all you get is a sliver at the edge of the window.

This culture places a very high value on television, altogether. It's creepy. Reminds me of Winston Smith's wife and her walls.

 

[Handprints]

Okay, I am the last adopter <laughing>

I'm not quite in your league - having a wife whose employer supplies the latest set of communications/computing gear every six months keeps me somewhat modern - but...

I was in love with tech toys, new cars, and new kitchen stuff when I was in my 20s and couldn't really afford any of them. Now, I wonder if being able to afford them isn't one of the contributors to my relative lack of interest.

When I packed up my life to move to China, I boxed up (okay, paid to have boxed up) a 14 year old Sony tv and an eight year old set of kitchen appliances that I have no real interest in replacing, then sold a 10 year old car I'd buy back in a heartbeat. I paid (what I thought were) stingingly high prices for them new mostly because I didn't want to have to worry about them breaking until I was able to afford the dream versions. Now, I've somehow become unable to see the value in their more modern descendants that I would have recognised instantly when I was in my 20s.

I wonder if there's some sort of connoisseurship of want involved: that I placed some sort of premium value on the most expensive and up-to-date products when I couldn't afford them because of what being able to afford them - and knowing the world of luxuries in enough detail to know to buy them - would say about me. Tortuous, I know. Now that I can afford my choice of TVs, etc, I'm not really interested in much more than value, workmanship and reliability - ironically, exactly the same qualities I was shopping for when I was looking for something that would do until I could blow a fortune on them.

And somehow, that change has also happened to my current unrealised material wants: the plane I lust for isn't a jet, it's a twin-turbo; the boat I dream of isn't big enough for two nubile models to tan on or fast enough to catch a windsurfer.

Nobody warned me I'd become more sensible as I aged and earned...

Best,
H

 

[jomar]

This is from About.com:
LCD

TV Prices Expect to Drop
Prices will fall at a slower rate than they have in the past, however.

Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service

Prices for LCD TVs are falling at a slower pace this year, but consumers will still enjoy significant price drops for the next few years, market researcher DisplaySearch said today.

The biggest price declines for users will come by the end of 2007, before the market begins to mature and discounts slow down. In fact, the pace at which price tags are being lowered has already slowed compared to last year.

The average selling price of a 32-inch LCD TV in the U.S. dropped just 24 percent during the first 18 weeks of this year, compared to a 53 percent decline during the same period last year. In 37-inch screens, the price drop this year was 30 percent, compared to 53 percent a year ago.

Part of the reason for the slower price decline was that there was no oversupply, said Ross Young, president of DisplaySearch, part of the NDP Group, at an event in Taipei.

The market research company expects prices for today's LCD TV models to fall by as much as 68 percent between the end of last year through the end of 2010. Of course, vendors are likely to come up with bigger, fancier screens to tempt buyers into buying higher-priced models.

http://pcworld.about.com/news/May262006id125903.htm


Might be getting to the point where you might as well buy and enjoy. Otherwise, you'll still be waiting for the next best deal/thing around the corner. I often struggle with that when planning to purchase technology items.

 

[trysail]

... the boat I dream of isn't big enough for two nubile models to tan on...

<cackling>
They're called "hood ornaments."

I accidentally stumbled on a piece carried on "60 Minutes" last night in which dear, clueless Leslie Stahl provided an unintentional imitation of "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous" in a story about Tom Perkins' (Kleiner, Perkins et al) new 300' pushbutton "sailboat" Maltese Falcon. It was close to the most amusing thing I've seen in a while. Perkins' nearly pathetic need for external validation actually had me feeling sorry for the guy. Whatever it is, it ain't sailing! It's closer to the maritime equivalent of putting pontoon floats on Claridges or the George V and launching same onto the ocean.

I truly love "future-proof"! What a comforting thing it would be, really, to so many people! To just be future-proofed!

Me mum was from Maine. She instilled some of the old Yankee values and self-reliance inherent in the aphorism, "Wear it out, make it do, do without."

The rest makes sense but you really should check out digital photography, for a variety of good, real life reasons, not just the techno "ooh-ah."

*Sigh* I suppose the day will come when, even I, will be forced to assimilate. It is getting tough to find Kodak Carousel slide projectors. I do find it difficult to distinguish between the truly utilitarian and "gee-wizardry."

Nobody warned me I'd become more sensible as I aged and earned...

I can't resist amending that to, "... as I aged and (L)earned..." Sorry.

(I still think you oughta go for the G6! )

 

[Biker-Bo]

The price of Flat panel TVs, LCD flat panels, and plasma screens will drop at minimum 75% upon the occurrence of one event. When I buy one.

It never fails, whenever I "invest" in technology, the bottom falls out of the price structure the minute I bring it home, and the "low price guarantee" (Usually about 30 days) wears off.

So when I buy one, watch out. Prices will fall immediately after.

 

[Liar]

I'm in a hurry so I'll answer the thread title question right away: When people stop being willing to pay the higher price.

Supply, meet demand.

That is all.

 

[Liar]

Anyway, those 4-digit prices are not gonna happen in this household, given that I watch about 1 hour of TV/month

Yeah, but don't you want that hour to be AWESOME?

 

[cloudy]

Now that I can afford my choice of TVs, etc, I'm not really interested in much more than value, workmanship and reliability

My husband still hasn't really learned this.

We went looking for a car for me recently. I currently drive a Cadillac STS that he bought for me, and that I didn't want, and told him so.

So, we're looking at cars. I want a Nissan Altima: they're reasonably priced, drive nicely, good on gas, and you can't kill the damn things.

He wants to buy me a BMW. Again, that I don't want.

I've given up.

 

[R. Richard]

If anyone is looking for a large screen TV, I would advise them to wait for the after Chrismas sales. Normally there are some realy attractive prices on left over big ticket items like large screen TVs.

 

[jomar]

My husband still hasn't really learned this.

We went looking for a car for me recently. I currently drive a Cadillac STS that he bought for me, and that I didn't want, and told him so.

So, we're looking at cars. I want a Nissan Altima: they're reasonably priced, drive nicely, good on gas, and you can't kill the damn things.

He wants to buy me a BMW. Again, that I don't want.

I've given up.

Because you deserve a BMW. And he'll borrow it a lot just to make sure it's running safe for you.

 

[jomar]

The new Consumer Reports magazine just came out and has an article titled: HDTV for any budget. What great timing, eh?